Umm, *not* everyone "goes through phases where they feel closer to or farther from God". I have personally never had a moment of genuine religious feeling (to my knowledge) -- and I really really want to! I'm not sure I can even claim to believe in most non-religious ethical precepts, such as whatever it is that makes people think it's bad to kill animals. My brother says that people must be inculcated with the idea of God before they reach the age of reason (say, 10 years old) or they never will -- and since I was not exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier as a child, it's possible that I didn't get my serving of divinity-awareness the day they were passing it out.

Since you raised the topic, though, can I ask you something (feel free not to answer if it's an awkward subject)? I've always wondered: why do Americans so frequently drop the religion of their upbringing in favor of other religions or some kind of unaffiliated spirituality? If one is wrong or corrupt, aren't they all likely to be just as bad?

Ah -- you're right, I should amend my previous statement. How about this?

"Every non-atheist goes through phases where they feel closer to or farther from God."

...which is an interesting notion. Most atheists seem *so sure* that there is no God that doubt (which is to say, faith) never seems to cross their minds. It's a non-question. But believers, even ordained priests (or even agnostics), suffer bouts of questioning and waffling and spiritual crisis. Why should this be so? Is it a question of emotion, which lets you believe, vs. reason, which doesn't? Is the divine presence testing them so that only the truly faithful reach heaven/nirvana/happy-eternal-ending-of-your-choice?

And what does it mean if Joyce is right -- that you can only have a sense of the divine if you're taught to, and taught early? (I wonder how she would fare wearing this researcher's electrode hat.) To that end, there's a good book by Julian Jaynes suggesting that early humans were essentially schizophrenic; the two halves of their brains didn't communicate well yet, and the disjoint between them is the true origin of religion and "divinity-awareness."

As to the second point, maybe it's simply a matter of American individualism. Probably large numbers drop their parents' faith(s) out of rebellion. Others want to "find themselves" and "choose their own path." Still others, like me, just think too much.

Hmmm, interesting notion -- faith is actually a species of doubt, while atheism is a kind of certainty. I think you're more right about the non-question-ness than the *so sure*-ness. I mean, if I were actually thinking about it I would have to say I don't believe in anything like the Christian God -- but most of the time it's more that I can't imagine the universe being configured in such a way that it could be a question of interest to me.

I am looking for the source of the phrase God is in the Details. Who said it first?

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations says

""God is in the details': A popular aphorism with the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the art historian Aby Warburg; attributed [Le bon Dieu est dan le detail] to Gustave Flaubert but without verification."

William Safire mentioned it in a New York Times article on July 30, 1989. He spoke with the editor of Bartlett's, who said:

"We've had little success with 'God (or 'the Devil') is in the details,'" says Mr. Kaplan. "We know that Mies van der Rohe used it in discussing architecture; Flaubert has been suggested, but nobody can find it in his writings. I think it may come from John Ruskin, because it sounds like him on the subject of workmanship, but we need the specific citation."

Where In The World Will We Find The Most Wealth?
Most people will say in the heart we will find the most wealth, but the real answers is:
In The Cemetery.....For most people die with their treasures locked up inside them.

i use phrase God is in details, but all my co-workers had only heard Devil. When i did Google search, there were 3x more citations for God than devil.

i think by saying God, you're affirming the beauty possible by focusing on even the smallest detail. w/devil in details, it sounds negative, like one misstep and the whole enterprise is doomed.

To address your original idea/question to an archived file: I think, therefore I am, said a human. I am that I am, said, according to biblical interpretation, "God".
Look, as a starting point, to Spinoza. I think he best addresses this issue in Ethics when he discusses the notion of an "infinite intellect"- The "namaste" notion, ultimately, we are all god. This allows us to marry our intellect with our innate (I think) need (and I stand on that: need, not want or desire) to understand that larger thing which we are all a part of and to find a spiritual succor. Does the brain induce religious euphoria? Probably. But why? And how do we define quantitatively what portion of that is "physiological" and what portion metaphysical. We cannot. It is immeasurable. It involves that scary concept- faith.